Long time, no see my friends!
Life is slowing down now again (we have a newborn this year, our first) and it's time to start planning for the next Storm of Silence in Spokane, WA. In 2016 it will be held in May, so I have a bit over 7 months to get things ready.
Here's where I stand now:
First, I have a fully painted 1850 point Khuster's Cav list, but it's been a long time since I've used it, and it has never been truly competitive. So I am going to piece it out, trying to stay with the theme, but make it more of a challenge for folks. It needs a new list.
Second, I love the horse scheme on some of the bikes, but not all of them. So a lot are getting repainted. I also have a lot of mold lines on a couple of them, so some of them are getting a second (or third) go around with some filing.
Third, I have to buy, build, and paint some new units. Well, that's not entirely true. I don't intend on buying anything new, I want to use what I have now. Might have to buy new paints though. But I do have to build and paint some models.
So what am I doing with the list? Well, first off, I have a core group of units that I don't want to mess with. They are the heart and soul of the army, and I just can't bring myself to change them (aside from required codex changes):
HQ - Khuster (Chapter Master, SM Bike, Artificer Armor, Storm Shield, Thunder Hammer)
EL - Command Squad (5x Veterans on bikes, Apothecary, Storm Shields, Grav/Meltas, Company Standard)
TR - Red Squad (6 bikers, Grav pistol Sergeant, Melta/Grav gun)
TR - Blue Squad (6 bikers, Grav pistol Sergeant, Melta/Grav gun)
TR - Green Squad (6 bikers, Grav pistol Sergeant, Melta/Grav gun)
TR - Violet Squad (6 bikers, Grav pistol Sergeant, Melta/Grav gun)
That's about 1150 points, with some options left out incase my opponents think they can get one over on me.
So I have 700 points to play around with. In the past, The Storm and The Harvester have been limited to two detatchments total, but with changes to the ITC from earlier this year, it's now up to three detatchments, which gives me some room to play.
My biggest weakness in this army is firepower. I've tried the Tau Firesupport Cadre, but with the amount of bikes I have, and the Allies rules, it becomes a logistical nightmare. Don't get me wrong, I love being able to pound my opponents with artillery before charging the bikes into the fray, but I'm not at the level to command that list yet.
I've played around with some Skitarii units, and I love the Ironstrider Cavaliers formation. So I put one into the list. There's a lot of mods to the model to get it more of the theme than Skitarii. Right now, it's just 3 models, with one built, one opened, and one still in the celophane. Lots of work there, but it only eats up 185 points (I picked all the fun options), leaving about 515 to add more.
So what to do with the 515 left over? I know I need some more firepower, and I'd also like to have some more points for a couple more Sydonian Dragoons, if possible.
My ideas, and what I am thinking -
Classic Khuster - 3 Landspeeders, Scouts, more bikes, etc. This is fun (my Conestoga style Landspeeders are awesome looking) but not really a solution. Scouts give me another Objective Secured unit, and Landspeeders give me some mobile firepower platforms, but both are pretty crunchy, and I've tried it before. Best for appearance, not gameplay.
Artillery - Thunderfire Cannons. Loads of firepower, and I can trick them out to look like US Cavalry field artillery. Also leaves me with enough points to get more Dragoons. I like this option, I will have to play with it some more. But I would have to hand make the cannons and techmarines. Doable, but lots of work. Also, TFCs are not very mobile, and I like the mobility of my army. Good for gameplay, good for appearance (I hope).
Heavy Air Cav - 2x Stormravens. This would answer my firepower problems, eventually. Let me be very honest here, I hate using reserves. I do not like having part of my army sitting around for a few turns, and I've never had much success with it either. The only reason I want the Dragoons is because I can roll on turn 1, that I'm okay with. So I'm rating this Bad for gameplay, bad for appearance (Can't think of a Khuster themed aircraft to save my life).
Knight - I can fit a Knight in here as a Lord of War, as well as enough points for another Ironstrider Ballistarii with Lascannons. I'm not sold on the Knights as units. I faced a couple in the last Storm, and it went down pretty fast. But I see a lot of them, so maybe it's time to hop on the band wagon. The downside is that I'd have to buy a Knight and another Ballistarii kit, or make them. More work than the cannons option. I'm going to say Okay for gameplay, okay for appearance.
I'll have to decide soon, and get a few test games in as well.
